


(opened my eyes) it was only just a dream

by justwantedtodance



Category: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dreams and Nightmares, Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Season/Series 04, season 4 speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 13:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13858296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justwantedtodance/pseuds/justwantedtodance
Summary: Rebecca has a bad dream that feels all too real, and Nathaniel helps her realize it was all just a dream. Set some time in season 4 with Nathaniel and Rebecca in an established relationship.





	(opened my eyes) it was only just a dream

Rebecca curls her body into a fetal position and makes herself intentionally small next to the man lying opposite of her. Her breaths are coming in quicker, and she fights the urge to scream. Nathaniel is sleeping peacefully on his back, and Rebecca feels a surge of envy blast through her veins at how easy his face sits in the depths of sleep.

            Their relationship is still fairly new, both of them finally deciding to try this for real, and some nights are harder than others. Rebecca barely sleeps the first week they considered themselves a couple; she worries too much that Nathaniel would get up in the middle of the night and not come back or that someone would come in and try to burst their love bubble. The love bubble between them is shaped much differently than her love bubble with Josh; this one takes the mold of reality where they don’t and can’t deny their pasts and while there are some airheaded romantic moments, they ground their relationship in each other and center it on honesty and tolerance.

After finally calming down the panic in her heart, Rebecca closes her eyes and turns towards Nathaniel, moving her body close to absorb the heat of his body. She’s okay for a while, breathing evenly in her sleep, dreaming of not much of anything, until _it_ happens.

Rebecca’s dream takes her back to the night of Nathaniel and Mona’s party on the rooftop where she’s confronted with the man who is everything she hates about herself. The glisten of the carving knife in his hand burns her eyes, which makes her unable to see that the knife is not positioned at Nathaniel’s back but his throat. The twisted grin on Trent’s face matches the motion of his wrist that digs the blade ever so slightly into Nathaniel’s skin.

Rebecca collapses to the ground and begs Trent not to hurt him. She would do anything to make him stop, she says. A crowd of her friends and coworkers gathers around at the scene: Paula, Heather, Valencia, Darryl, WhiJo, Tim, Jim, Maya, even George. They’re standing a few feet back from the action, hands all covering their mouths in shock. Rebecca watches as Trent releases Nathaniel and makes his way towards her with the knife still in his hand, cowering on the ground before his looming figure. That’s it; he’s going to kill her instead.

Trent calmly presents the knife to Rebecca handle-first. She looks up at Trent with confusion in her eyes but accepts the knife, gripping it loosely.

“The monster must be killed, Rebecca. Look around carefully before you make your choice. Who is the real monster here, Rebecca?” Rebecca takes a frantic look around at all of her friends and loved ones standing around with fear in their eyes, not because they’re afraid Rebecca will kill them but because it’s obvious what Trent means by his statement. The knife reflects Rebecca’s frightened face back at her, and she expects to find her tear-stained face and dark wavy hair in the steel but instead finds Trent staring her down with his hideously evil smile.

She can’t hear the shouts of protest from the crowd around her as she positions the knife perpendicular to her stomach. Rebecca locks eyes with Paula from across the way and forces her hands to cease their shaking from around the knife’s handle.

“The monster must be killed,” she whispers. No one and nothing moves. Rebecca turns her gaze back to Nathaniel and mouths an “I’m sorry” to him. Before the knife breaks her skin, a strong male voice breaks through the crowd.

“Rebecca? Rebecca. Rebecca, wake up. Rebecca, baby, please wake up.”

She doesn’t even realize she’s screaming until her voice cracks. Nathaniel takes both of her wrists in his hand and his other reaches up to smooth the hair out of her face. Rebecca’s chest shakes with sobs as she finally opens her eyes to find Nathaniel, alive and well, gently on top of her, quietly soothing her. She quiets her cries and grabs onto Nathaniel’s t-shirt, still gasping for air.

“Hi, love. Did you have a bad dream?” Rebecca nods slowly, still unable to speak. “Do you want to talk about it?” Rebecca looks down ashamed but still keeps her hands gripped in his shirt. Her tears begin to flow again, hot and salty droplets of pain and embarrassment.

“S—sorry, I’m—“ Nathaniel lifts Rebecca’s chin and makes her eyes meet his. He sets a firm gaze down on her that’s not threatening but it’s grounding and makes her listen.

“No, don’t you dare apologize to me, Rebecca. You are not allowed to apologize for this. You did nothing wrong. Do you understand?” Rebecca nods again, her eyes still welling with tears. They fall harder and faster, and Nathaniel takes care to scoop each one from her cheeks with his thumb and softly gaze down at her. Suddenly, she opens her mouth to talk.

“It—it was horrible. The p—party with you and Mona and . . . and Trent,” her voice breaks pitifully on the last word. “He wanted to kill you, but I—I stopped him. I begged him to go away, and he—he said that the only way he’d go away is to kill the real monster. And—and I had the knife, and—“ Rebecca can’t finish her sentence before she starts to sob again, and Nathaniel pulls her in tightly and protectively to his chest.

“Oh, Rebecca, I’m so sorry. Shh, it’s okay, you’re okay.” They spend the next few minutes in the same position, Nathaniel varying his ways to calm her. He strokes her hair and cradles her with a childlike tenderness similar to the vague memories Nathaniel has of his mother coming into his bedroom and quieting his bad dreams late at night. When she’s quiet save for a few sniffles here and there, Nathaniel lifts Rebecca’s head from his chest and brings her face close to his. “Rebecca, you are safe. I am safe. We are safe. You don’t have anything to be afraid of here. Trent is in a hospital bed in a full body cast, and he cannot hurt us here. Okay?” Rebecca nods, though it’s tentative.

“C—can we go lock all the doors? Please?” The question is so small that if Nathaniel’s face hadn’t been pressed up against hers, he probably wouldn’t have heard it. Nathaniel kisses her forehead softly and reaches for her hand.

“Of course, baby. Come on.”

Even as Nathaniel locks and re-locks the doors in his apartment, he keeps his other hand tightly laced with Rebecca’s. Then, he makes Rebecca be the one to turn the lock, placing her hand on the metal and helping her turn it. Nathaniel gets a glass of water for her from the kitchen and makes sure she drinks it all before going back with her to bed.

She slides in first underneath the covers, and Nathaniel follows her without hesitating, keeping her close as she adjusts to get comfortable next to him. Before her head falls on his chest and she drifts into sleep, Nathaniel’s voice pulls her gaze to his face.

“Rebecca?” Wordlessly, she looks up and gives her attention to him. “I love you.”

She smiles for the first time since she’s been awake. Even though it’s small, it’s a beautiful smile because it’s hers.

“I love you too,” she whispers back. They share a long kiss before settling back down and drifting into more peaceful dreams in each other’s arms.


End file.
